Drinking straw

ABSTRACT

A drinking straw that can be easily inserted through a lid or into a beverage pouch or box but that cannot be easily removed, for example, by a child, once the straw is in place. Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a drinking straw apparatus with a mechanism that makes it difficult to remove a straw once inserted through a lid or opening into a beverage container. One or more retaining extensions extending from a sleeve attached to the straw provide force against the underside of the lid of a container, preventing the straw from being pulled out of the container. One or more retaining extensions can also be formed integrally with the straw. Preferred embodiments are also inexpensive to manufacture so that the products are suitable for use as single-use, disposable straws.

The present application claims priority from U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/124,244, filed Apr. 15, 2008, and from U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/156,523, filed Mar. 1, 2009, both ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to drinking straws, more particularly to adrinking straw with a safety feature to prevent easy removal from abeverage container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is commonly known, a drinking straw is a cylindrical tube having twoopen ends. One end is placed in a beverage and the other end is placedin a person's mouth. By applying suction through the straw, a smallamount of the beverage is drawn up through the straw and into theperson's mouth. Because a straw allows a person to drink without havingto lift a full cup, straws are often provided to children who would havedifficulty drinking from a cup or glass without spilling the contents.

For the same reason, drinking cups for children are often provided withremovable lids to help prevent large spills. These lids typically havean opening through which a drinking straw can be inserted.

It is also common for children to drink beverages from liquid-containingcartons or pouches that provide single servings of noncarbonatedbeverages such as juice or milk. These containers are commonly referredto as juice boxes or juice pouches. (Hereinafter, the phrase “juice box”will be used to refer to any type of single serving drink containerdesigned to be consumed with an attached straw.) Juice boxes typicallycome packaged with a straw for consuming the beverage. The straw istypically attached to and removable from the juice box. The attachedstraw typically has an angle-cut piercing end, while the other rigidsection ends in a straight-cut drinking end. The piercing end isdesigned to pierce the beverage container, for example through a smallfoil-sealed opening located near the top of the juice box.

While the drinking lids and the construction of the juice boxes helpprevent large spills, parents often struggle with preventing youngchildren from pulling drinking straws out of drink containers atinopportune times and either spilling the drink liquid or throwing thestraw down onto a table or floor. The result is often a mess to becleaned up and/or a straw that is dirtied and soiled and no longerre-usable for its intended purposes. Further, the child is then leftwithout a straw and may be unable to drink any more of the beverage.Beyond that, it is also environmentally unfriendly as the straw is nolonger usable and a new, clean one has to be obtained and used.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,013 to Manganiello for “Straw for Drinking Cup”teaches a reusable straw and lid assembly where the straw is insertedthrough an opening in the lid from underneath and a retaining shoulderallows only a predetermined length of the straw to extend above the lid.The apparatus taught by Manganiello is not designed to be disposable.The apparatus is too complicated and difficult to manufacture to besuitable for a one time use. Further, the straw and lid are a completeassembly designed to work together. The straw would not be suitable foruse with another lid, such as the typical disposable lids placed ondrinks in fast-food restaurants. Finally, the Manganiello straw must beinserted from underneath the lid, making more difficult to use fordrinking lids and making it impossible to use with juice boxes and thelike.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,074 to Frauenthal et al. for “Retraction ResistantStraw” describes a straw with a flexible retaining tab secured to theoutside of the straw and extending radially. However, to insert thestraw into an opening, the tab must first be wrapped around the straw toallow it to pass through the opening in the lid or juice box. Frauenthalalso describes an alternate embodiment where the straw is formed with atruncated cone midway up the length of the straw so that the base of thecone (which is significantly larger in diameter than the straw) istoward the top of the straw. Both of these embodiments, however, wouldbe difficult to use and to manufacture. The tab embodiment requires theuser to wrap the tab around the straw before inserting. This wouldobviously be difficult for an adult and nearly impossible for a smallchild. The cone embodiment as shown in Frauenthal would make a largerhole in the lid or juice container, requiring more effort to insert thestraw and making it more likely that there would be leakage or spillingaround the straw. The same would be true for the tab embodiment,especially for foil on beverage boxes or pouches because the tab wouldtend to slice through the foil unless pre-folded against the straw.Finally, both embodiments would be difficult and expensive tomanufacture and could not be produced using the typical extrusionmolders currently used in drinking straw manufacture.

Accordingly, there is a need for a straw designed to prevent easyremoval from a beverage container. Finally, there is a need for such adrinking straw which is inexpensive and easy enough to manufacture sothat it may be used as a free, disposable item.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a drinking strawassembly that can be easily inserted through a lid or into a beveragepouch or box but that cannot be easily removed by a child once the strawis in place. Preferred embodiments are also inexpensive to manufactureso that the products are suitable for use as single-use, disposablestraws.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatthe conception and specific embodiments disclosed may be readilyutilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures forcarrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should alsobe realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalentconstructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the inventionas set forth in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more thorough understanding of the present invention, andadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B show preferred embodiments of drinking straws accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a straw sleeve mounted onto a straw according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A shows a straw sleeve according to the present invention;

FIG. 3B shows a perspective view of a straw sleeve according to thepresent invention;

FIGS. 4-7 show the insertion of a drinking straw according to thepresent invention through a typical drink lid;

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a straw of a preferred embodiment fullyinserted through a lid;

FIG. 7 shows a bottom perspective view of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention fully inserted through a lid with the finger-likemechanisms fully extended;

FIGS. 8A and 8B show a straw assembly according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention where the extensions are integralwith the straw; and

FIG. 9 shows a straw assembly that includes a straw and a cone shapedstraw retainer formed as a single piece.

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a drinking strawthat can be easily inserted through a lid or into a beverage pouch orbox but that cannot be easily removed, for example, by a child, once thestraw is in place. By “easily inserted,” it is meant that the forcerequired will be relatively small but not zero. A drinking strawaccording to the present invention should be able to be inserted througha lid or into a beverage pouch or box using substantially the same forcerequired by a prior-art straw. Once inserted, as described below, astraw according to the present invention cannot be easily removed. Bythis, it is meant that the force required to remove a straw according tothe present invention will be substantially greater than the forcerequired to remove a prior-art straw. Due to the relatively weakmaterials typically used in the construction of beverage lids and thepreferred materials used for preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, an adult would certainly be able to remove a drinking strawaccording to the present invention; for example by pulling hard enoughto tear the beverage lid material or the drinking straw. However, innormal use, a drinking straw according to the present invention shouldbe difficult to remove, especially for a child, once inserted through alid or opening in a beverage container.

This is accomplished by way of various types of retaining extensionsattached to or integral with the straw that will press flat against thestraw when passed through a hole in a lid or juice box in one direction,but will catch against the beverage container lid, juice box, or otherbeverage container when the straw is pulled in the opposite direction.As used herein, the term “integral” is used to mean that the straw andthe extensions are formed as one piece, rather than having extensionsglued or otherwise attached to the straw. In the embodiments describedherein, these extensions can be considered as a type of “straw retainer”that will hold the straw in place. Preferred embodiments are alsoinexpensive to manufacture so that the products are suitable for use assingle-use, disposable straws.

A preferred method or apparatus of the present invention has many novelaspects, and because the invention can be embodied in different methodsor apparatuses for different purposes, not every aspect need be presentin every embodiment. Moreover, many of the aspects of the describedembodiments may be separately patentable. Although much of thisdescription is directed at a drinking straw for use by children,preferred embodiments would also be suitable for use by the elderly ordisabled. Also, drinking straws according to the present invention couldbe used at zoos or parks where discarded straws may be dangerous toanimals or wildlife. Still further, drinking straws according to thepresent invention may be used ubiquitously as an aid in preventinglittering in general. Preferred embodiments of the present inventioncould also be used simply to prevent straws from accidentally beingremoved or dropped.

A preferred embodiment of a drinking straw assembly 10 according to thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1. Straw 11 can be manufacturedaccording to any suitable known methods, including extrusion typemolders which are commonly used in drinking straw manufacture. Straws ofvarious sizes can be used, including straws of a diameter commonly used,for example, in fast-food restaurants (typically 15 mm in diameter andsmaller) and straws of a diameter suitable for use in commerciallyavailable juice boxes (typically from 3 to 6 mm in diameter). Straw 11can be formed from any suitable material, as is known in the prior art,including, for example, polypropylene resin. In some embodiments, thestraw can have an angle-cut piercing lower end for penetrating thefoil-sealed opening of some beverage containers, while the top sectionends in a straight cut drinking end.

Sleeve 12 is placed around the exterior of straw 11. The sleeve can alsobe formed using extrusion type molders to create the cylindricallyshaped sleeve with an internal diameter large enough so that the sleevewill fit tightly around the exterior of the straw. Sleeve 12 ispreferably formed from the same material as straw 11. A plurality offinger-like extensions 14 will press flat against the straw when passedthrough a hole in a lid or juice box in one direction, but will catchagainst the lid or juice box when the straw is pulled in the oppositedirection. As shown in FIG. 1A to 3B, the distal or upper ends of theextensions will preferably tend to spread out away from the straw sothat the overall top diameter 16 of the extensions (including the spacesbetween the extensions) will be larger and wider at the upper end thanthe bottom diameter 17 where the extensions attach to or join the sleevebase.

The extensions are preferably integral with the sleeve. In other words,the sleeve and the extensions are preferably formed from one solid pieceof material. Extensions 14 can be easily formed by making a plurality oflongitudinal slits in a cylindrical sleeve 12 as shown in FIG. 2. Insome preferred embodiments, the extensions can be curled outward awayfrom the straw exterior as shown in FIG. 1A. The curled extensions canbe formed, for example, by holding the extensions in the desired curledshape and applying heat. The degree to which the upper portions of theextensions are spread away from the straw can be varied as long as theyspread enough to “catch” on the underside of the beverage container foilor lid when the straw and sleeve are pulled back up through an opening.In addition to the finger-like form shown, the extensions could beformed in any desired shape, for example as tabs with a greater widththan height or as triangle shaped extensions.

Sleeve 12 can be placed around straw and held in place, for example byfriction, heating the assembled sleeve and straw, an adhesive,ultrasonic welding, etc. The slits should be long enough to produceextensions that are large enough to prevent the drinking straw frombeing easily removed from a beverage container once inserted, but shouldnot extend so far as to weaken the sleeve or significantly reduce theforce holding the sleeve in place. The sleeve itself can also be of anydesired overall length, for example from ¾ to 1½ inches in overalllength (including the length of the extensions). The sleeve should beheld in place at a longitudinal position on the straw so that the sleevewill pass completely through the lid or container opening when the strawis fully inserted into a beverage container (in other words, when thestraw is inserted to a depth allowing it to be used to draw the beverageout of the container). For a typical drinking straw suitable for usewith a variety of containers, the lower edge of the sleeve could bepositioned, for example, 3 inches or less from the lower end of thestraw. More preferably, the lower edge of the sleeve is positioned from1 to 2 inches from the lower end of the straw; most preferably the loweredge of the sleeve is positioned about 1½ inches from the bottom of thestraw. This would allow the straw to be used with short containers (suchas yogurt cups). For taller containers (such as typical disposable drinkcups) the straw could be pulled up from the bottom of the cup forseveral inches before the sleeve extensions would catch against the lidor container.

Extensions 14 are preferably attached to the sleeve 12, rather thanstraw 11—although, as described below, in some preferred embodiments theextensions can be attached directly to or integrally formed with thestraw. Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, the extensions 14 are preferablyattached to or continuous with the sleeve only at the base of eachextension (the proximal ends of the extensions). The attachment ortransition between sleeve and extension, shown by dashed line 32, willpreferably be located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longaxis 19 of the drinking straw (and thus parallel to the typical drinkcontainer lid when the straw is inserted) so that, when pressed upagainst a drink container lid as shown in FIG. 7, the extensions willpress flat against the underside of the lid.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the purelylongitudinal force of pushing the drinking straw through an opening willpush each extension flat against the straw. In other words, the strawand sleeve of the present invention can be inserted straight into atypical beverage container or lid just like a prior art straw, with notwisting or specialized motion required.

Alternatively, the extensions could be attached to or continuous withthe sleeve at the bottom of each extension and also attached together atthe top of the extensions, but unattached and spread away from the strawtoward the middle portions of the extensions. In this preferredembodiment, the sleeve and extensions would function more like astandard wall anchor.

FIGS. 4-7 illustrate the stages of inserting the drinking straw into astandard drink lid 42. The bottom end 44 of the drinking straw (the endopposite the extensions 14) is first passed down through the opening 46from the top surface 48 of the lid. As the drinking straw 10 passesthrough opening 46 the downward force will cause the extensions 14 topress flat against the straw 11 and so pass through the opening 46. Oncethe distal ends of the extensions (the free ends opposite or away fromthe sleeve) have passed through the opening, however, they will tend towiden away from the straw body, as shown in FIG. 6. Any attempt to pullthe straw back out of the opening will cause the ends of the extensionsto contact the straw lid or the portion of the juice box surrounding theopening. The extensions will then be pushed out wide, as shown in FIG.7, which will prevent the drinking straw from being easily pulled backthrough the opening. In preferred embodiments, the extensions themselveswill be wide enough to provide sufficient resistance when the straw ispulled in an outward direction. In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 7,the total widths of the extensions pressed against the underside of thelid (not including the spaces between the extensions) will beapproximately equal to the diameter of the straw.

Preferred embodiments of the invention can be applied to any size strawand can be used with any commercially available juice box or pouch.Embodiments of the present invention can be used with openings inbeverage containers that are only slightly larger than the diameter ofthe drinking straw and sleeve. Because the extensions will tend tospread out from the straw when no force is being applied and because theextensions will spread out to a much larger diameter when an attempt ismade to remove the straw, embodiments of the present invention can alsobe used with openings that are substantially larger than the diameter ofthe drinking straw and sleeve. Thus, the present invention is notlimited to beverage containers with standard insertion holes.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention can be used with anytypical beverage containers, and can be used with any beverage or liquidsuch as Hi-C®, Yoplait® yogurt, Coca-Cola® Products, Dr. Pepper®products and any other soft drink. Preferred embodiments of the presentinvention can be used with drink containers purchased at a restaurantwith a lid, or drink containers used in the home with lids or lid-likedevices. Drinking straws according to the present invention can besingle use, disposable items or can be reusable. A drinking strawaccording to the present invention can be provided with a drinkcontainer, such as the straws typically packaged with juice boxes andpouches, or can be provided separately, for example in a box or packageof individual drinking straws that can be used with any desired beveragecontainer.

In another preferred embodiment, a sleeve according to the presentinvention can be reusable and nondisposable. For example, an assortmentof reusable sleeves can be provided so that the interior diameters ofthe sleeves will firmly fit over the exterior of various standard strawsizes. The interior diameters of the sleeves will preferably fit tightlyover the exterior of the standard straws so that the sleeve will be heldin place by friction. Even though the reusable sleeves will slide overthe exterior of the straws when sufficient force is applied, thefriction between the straw and the sleeve will preferably be sufficientto provide adequate resistance to prevent easy removal of the straw, forexample when a child pulls on the straw or attempts to remove the strawfrom a beverage.

In some embodiments, the straw can be formed with one or moreindentations or one or more thicker areas to facilitate location andattachment of the sleeve. In other preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, the straw and at least one extension can be formed as asingle unit, preferably during the extrusion process, For example, FIGS.8A and 8B show a straw assembly 20 where a plurality of extensions 14are integral with the straw 11. FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional viewshowing that the extensions 14 and the straw 11 are formed as one piece.Skilled persons will recognize that different numbers of extensions anddifferent shaped extensions can be formed without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention.

Instead of the finger-like extension described above, one or moregenerally cone-shaped extensions could also be formed. For example, FIG.9 shows a straw that includes a straw shaft 60 and a straw retainer 62that are also formed as a single piece (like the embodiment shown inFIG. 8). Straw retainer 62 is essentially a thin, cone-shaped materialthat extends from straw shaft 60. Straw retainer 62 can be formed, forexample, as the straw is being extruded by forcing material over acone-shaped mold. Straw retainer 62 is sufficiently flexible so that itcan be compressed against straw shaft 60 to be inserted into a beveragecontainer. The cone portion may have one or more slits substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal axis of straw shaft 60 so as to facilitatecompressing the cone when it is inserted into a beverage container.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example,in some systems, the sample may be fixed and the tools may rotate on aplatform. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intendedto be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes,machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps,presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantiallythe same function or achieve substantially the same result as thecorresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according tothe present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended toinclude within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

1. A drinking straw assembly, comprising: a straw formed from acylindrical tube, the straw having a top portion adapted for beingplaced in a person's mouth in order to draw liquid through the straw anda lower end adapted for inserting through an opening in a beveragecontainer; and a sleeve fitted around the exterior of the tube and fixedin place on the straw, the sleeve having a plurality of retainingextensions extending away from the sleeve up toward the top portion ofthe straw.
 2. The drinking straw assembly of claim 1 wherein the sleeveand retaining extensions when inserted with the straw through an openingin a beverage container will prevent the easy removal of the straw. 3.The drinking straw assembly of claim 1 wherein the straw with sleeve andretaining extensions can be inserted through an opening in a beveragecontainer using substantially the same force required to insert a strawwithout the sleeve and retaining extensions.
 4. The drinking strawassembly of claim 1 in which the sleeve fitted around the exterior ofthe tube comprises a cylindrical sleeve fitting around the exterior ofthe straw, said sleeve having an upper portion oriented toward the topportion of the straw and a lower portion oriented toward the lower endof the straw and said sleeve fixed in place on the straw so that whenthe straw is fully inserted through an opening in a beverage containerthe sleeve passes completely through the opening.
 5. The drinking strawassembly of claim 4 in which the plurality of retaining extensionsextend from the upper portion of the sleeve, said retaining extensionscontinuous with the sleeve only at the base of each retaining extensionso that the transition between the sleeve and the base of each retainingextension is located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longaxis of the drinking straw.
 6. The drinking straw assembly of claim 5 inwhich the retaining extensions have an upper portion distal to the upperportion of the sleeve and in which the upper portions of the extensionsare spread out away from the straw so that the retaining extensions havea wider overall diameter at said upper portion than at the base of theextensions.
 7. The drinking straw assembly of claim 1 in which theplurality of retaining extensions are formed so that the purelylongitudinal force of pushing the straw and sleeve down through theopening will push each retaining extension flat against the straw andallow the sleeve to easily pass through the opening, but when the strawis then pulled back up, the retaining extensions will contact thebeverage container and spread out away from the straw preventing thestraw and sleeve from being easily pulled through the opening.
 8. Thedrinking straw assembly of claim 5 wherein the sleeve and retainingextensions comprise a cylindrical tube of material having one or morelongitudinal slits through the cylinder material, the slits running froma first end of the cylinder and extending longitudinally only partiallyalong the length of the cylinder.
 9. The drinking straw assembly ofclaim 2 in which the beverage container comprises a beverage containerand lid and in which the opening in the beverage container is an openingin the lid.
 10. The drinking straw assembly of claim 2 in which thebeverage container opening is covered by foil or flexible plastic thatis punctured when the straw and sleeve are inserted through the opening.11. The drinking straw assembly of claim 1 in which the straw has adiameter of less than 15 mm.
 12. The drinking straw assembly of claim 1in which the straw has a diameter of 3 mm to 6 mm.
 13. The drinkingstraw assembly of claim 1 in which the straw and the sleeve comprise apolypropylene resin.
 14. The drinking straw assembly of claim 1 in whichthe sleeve is held in place around the exterior of the straw byfriction, adhesive, or by heating.
 15. The drinking straw assembly ofclaim 1 in which the sleeve is fixed in place on the straw so that thelower edge of the sleeve is 3 inches or less from the lower end of thestraw.
 16. The drinking straw assembly of claim 1 in which the sleeveand extensions is ¾ to 1½ inches in length.
 17. The drinking strawassembly of claim 1 in which the straw is formed with one or moreindentions to facilitate placement and attachment of the sleeve.
 18. Adrinking straw comprising: a straw formed from a cylindrical tube, thestraw having an upper end, a lower end, and a longitudinal axis, thelower end adapted for inserting through an opening in a beveragecontainer; one or more extensions extending from the straw, said one ormore extensions: (i) positioned on the straw so that the extensions willpass completely through said opening when the straw is inserted into abeverage container; (ii) formed so that the purely longitudinal force ofpushing the straw and sleeve down through the opening will push theextensions against the straw and allow the extensions to easily passthrough the opening, but when the straw is then pulled back up, theextensions will contact the beverage container and prevent the strawfrom being easily removed from the beverage container.
 19. The drinkingstraw of claim 18 in which at least one extension is cone-shaped withthe base of the cone extending toward the upper end of the straw and inwhich said cone-shaped extension is formed with one or more longitudinalslits completely through the extension, said slits serving to allow thecone-shaped extension to be easily compressed as the straw and sleeveare inserted into a beverage container.
 20. The drinking straw of claim18 having a plurality of extensions extending from the straw.
 21. Thedrinking straw of claim 20 where at least one extension is integrallyformed with the straw.
 22. The drinking straw of claim 18 in which theone or more extensions have a proximal portion with respect to the mainstraw body and a distal portion opposite the straw body and formed sothat the distal portion that tends to spread out away from the straw sothat the distal portion of the one or more extensions has a wideroverall diameter than the proximal portion.
 23. A cylindrical sleevewhich can be fitted around the exterior of a standard drinking straw,said sleeve having an upper portion which can be oriented toward theupper end of the straw and a lower portion which can be oriented towardthe lower end of the straw so that the sleeve passes completely throughsaid opening when the straw is inserted into a beverage container; saidsleeve further having a plurality of retaining extensions extending fromthe upper portion of the sleeve, said extensions: (i) continuous withthe sleeve only at the base of each extension so that the transitionbetween the sleeve and each extension is located in a planesubstantially perpendicular to the long axis of the drinking straw; (ii)having an upper portion that tends to spread out so that the extensionshave a wider overall diameter at the top than at the base.